Vicki Vale
History Vicki Vale: 1974 - Present As she had always been such a snoopy child, it's a small wonder that she never found out she was adopted until she was seven years old. Understandably, the news was quite devastating for her, but Vicki realized that whoever left her at that firehouse wanted her to have a better life than whatever they could give her... and a better life she did have, Vicki was adopted by Tom Vale, an editor at the Daily Planet, and his wife Valerie. The Vales were a loving couple and though not wealthy per se, Tom had enough connections and scraped enough to even allow her to attend Ivy University where she majored in journalism. During her summers in college, Vicki worked as an intern at the Daily Planet. The summer before she would graduate, her father announced he would be retiring and replaced by legendary reporter Perry White. Though, Vicki dreamed of the opportunity to work under the likes of Perry White, she instead decided at the last minute to accept a job offer at the Gotham Gazette as it not only would pay better, but there were rumors circulating of a masked vigilante and Vicki wanted to be the one to break that story. In Gotham, Vicki made a name for herself as someone eager to write what others were too afraid to pursue. Though she wasn't the first one to catch a photo of this 'winged vigilante', she was determined to be the one who would write the definitive story on this caped crusader and manipulated her boss into letting her cover the crime beat while the usual writer was on vacation. While pursuing a lead on rising mob boss, Tony Zucco, Vicki Vale snuck into the Harvey Dent campaign fundraiser event where she first met Bruce Wayne, in person. While Bruce knew she wasn't on the guest list, she managed to charm the billionaire into not alerting security with the promise of a date. Later that evening, after hearing Zucco threaten the manager of the fundraiser's entertainment, Vicki shadowed the mobster and was taken hostage when she stumbled on Zucco's men rigging some safety equipment. Later at a warehouse owned by Zucco, Batman dropped in to question Zucco's men after a pair of acrobats were killed at the fundraiser. Though Batman couldn't prove Zucco himself had anything to do with it, he still broke the mobster's nose and then discovered Vicki Vale tied up. After freeing her and giving her camera back (minus the film), Batman made his exit... but not before Vicki could put a new roll of film into her camera and snap a quick shot of the Batman looking down at her through a skylight, seemingly scowling at her resourcefulness. This picture once developed was considered by her boss to be the first truly 'printable' picture of the Batman and even he was even more impressed that she had a brief conversation with the dark knight of Gotham and this apparently was enough to constitute her earning the reputation as the "Reporter Who Interviewed Batman". With such a title, Vicki was given the 'Bat-Beat' job at the Gazette. Assigned to report on the Batman full-time. Vicki became a household name in a matter of months around Gotham as everyone wanted to know about this guy. Little did Vicki know she had promised him a date. It would not be until years later, in 2003 that Bruce Wayne would come calling to make good on that date Vicki had promised him, asking her to be his 'arm candy' for some gala which Vicki was desperately trying to find a way in. Though Bruce called in that owed date as a means to find out who Vicki's source was on a case he was working on as Batman, he found himself actually attracted to her. Of course, Dick, Alfred, and myself were also pressuring him at every turn to continue exploring this relationship with Vicki. The relationship between the two was one of mutual attraction, but as time went on Vicki would regularly have her suspicions about Batman and Bruce Wayne being one and the same. The matter was resolved once and for all when during her first actual interview with Batman shortly after the announcement of the Justice League of America had been announced. In the middle of the interview, when Batman's attention was on the distant sound of police sirens and someone's voice in the his cowl's communication equipment, Vicki spontaneously kissed the Dark Knight. To her half-surprise, he kissed her back. When their lips pulled apart, the Batman was smirking at her resourcefulness. In that moment, Bruce decided to properly reveal his identity as Batman to her. Vicki gave him one more ecstatic kiss and then in a move that Bruce didn't see coming, she slapped him and unexpectedly broke up with him, right there on the patio of her apartment. Vicki would later tell me she had no idea why she had done that for days afterward. It had consumed her mind and unable to work, she jumped on a chance to take on an assignment on the island of Corto Maltese for several years, just to get out of Gotham. It wasn't until she was in another country when her guide asked her what Batman was like that she realized she had broke things off to avoid being tempted to reveal Bruce's identity. Gotham needed the Batman more than she needed that scoop. In Corto Maltese, Vicki covered the story of the revolution on the island to such acclaim that she earned a Pulitzer Prize that catapulted her to remarkable fame upon her return to the States in 2007. Vicki chose not to return to Gotham, instead moving across the bay to Metropolis where she had After a short stint as a co-host of the daytime talk show 'The Scene'. She would have a few run-ins with both Batman and Bruce Wayne during this time, but the two did not reconcile their relationship. There was just a silent understanding between the two of them. Bruce wouldn't ask her why and she wouldn't tell anyone his secret. A few years later, fed up with fake smiles, Vicki wanted to return to hard-hitting journalism and so she returned to Gotham where her old friend Jack Ryder had made a name for himself as the Gazette's ace reporter and the two quickly became frenemies. Shortly after her return, Vicki showed up at Wayne Manor to finally have that talk with Bruce Wayne. The conversation must have went well, I hear that Vicki stayed the night and toured the Batcave the next morning with Alfred; but after that, over breakfast, Vicki laid it all out for Bruce. She wanted to help him, she wanted to do more for the city than just write about stories. She wanted to enact real change and while Bruce had done just that, he could do more with her help. So... Vicki agreed to be his girlfriend once again, but she was also his alibi. Bruce agreed, interested to see how this would play out. Vicki and Bruce then began an elaborate lie. A couple nights a week they would make a token appearance in public, maybe have a dinner or take in a show, and then Vicki would sleep over at the Manor or Bruce and she would retire to her apartment where he kept a locked chest under the bed with a spare Bat-suit. Vicki tried not to pry into Bruce's nocturnal life as she honestly thought the less she knew the better, but Vicki was Vicki so every now and then, she'd get snoopy. It was a good arrangement while it lasted and the two were a good match for one another, but the arrangement made them something more like business partners (with benefits) more than actual romantic partners. With that mindset, Bruce hooked up with Selina Kyle on occasion. He was up front and honest with Vicki about it and she actually took it well as she too shared Bruce's mindset concerning their relationship. They continued the charade for a while, with Vicki even agreeing to date to Tommy Elliot while he posed as Bruce (though she did constantly start arguments with him in order to evade intimacy with him); but upon Bruce's return and decision to propose to Selina Kyle, he broke things off with Vicki. In order to help sell the whole 'playboy' persona for Bruce, Vicki played the part of a jilted lover who had been cheated on and mistreated for a couple weeks. This gave her papers a boost for a short time but did little to change the public's perception of either. After the break-up, Vicki began investigating Lincoln March after he won the election. Nowadays, Vicki is still working on her investigation into Mayor March, while also continuing to write for the Bat-Beat. She is still an ally to the "family" and her journalistic insights and connections continue to aid our cause.Oracle Files: Vicki Vale Threat Assessment Resources * Investigation: Vicki is an excellent investigator with a history of investigating organized crime, vigilantes, politicians, wide-scale city corruption, serial killers, and more. * Journalism: Vicki is an award-winning reporter and among the best journalists in the world today. Her skills are easily comparable to those of excellent investigative reporters like Lois Lane and Clark Kent. * Photography: Vicki is also an award-winning photographer. The combination of her eye for just the right picture to encompass her writing has become a hallmark of her journalistic style. Weaknesses * Curiosity: Much like her journalistic peer, Lois Lane, Vicki Vale tends to get in over her head in dangerous situations. * Temptation: Vicki honestly admits she is constantly tempted to write a story revealing that Bruce Wayne is Batman.Deluxe Oracle File: Vicki Vale Trivia and Notes Trivia * Vicki Vale uncovered evidence that her birth mother was a former mental patient and habitual drug user. No identity for who her father might be exists on record. * The Joker seems to have a certain fondness for Vicki Vale and has never intentionally hurt her, even going so far as to shoot one of his men who bruised her face while kidnapping her. Also, while incarcerated at Arkham, Joker writes letters to Vicki. She passes them off to Bruce for analysis into Joker's psychological state. They are, surprisingly, not that deranged and seem actually quite mundane. * Vicki is the co-host of the Vale v Ryder podcast and radio show. Her co-host is Jack Ryder. * Vicki Vale continues to work as a guest host for the Scene, filling in when a regular host is unavailable. * She endorsed Marian Grange during the election. * She's friends with Shelly Gaynor. She became a fan of her writing and now tries to convince her to write again. Notes * Vicki's address is a nod to her first comic book appearance: Batman #49, in 1948. * Vicki's supposed weight is a nod to Batman movie. * Vicki being adopted is a nod to Batman: The Telltale Series video game. Links and References * Appearances of Vicki Vale * Character Gallery: Vicki Vale * Network Files submitted by Vicki Vale Category:Characters Category:Daily Planet Category:Gotham Gazette Category:Civilian Category:The Network Members Category:Galaxy Broadcasting System Members Category:Journalism Category:Investigation Category:Americans Category:Red Hair Category:Blue Eyes Category:Gothamite Category:Reporters Category:Female Characters Category:Bruce Wayne's Love Interests Category:No Dual Identity Category:27th Reality